Amanda Evans Newsletter (Spring 2024)

Hey Friends & Family,

Spring Break Trip

At the end of March, I got the opportunity to go back to Detroit on one of Teen Missions Spring Break trips. The other team stayed on property in Florida and helped with a lot of projects. It was a group of 15 kids from different states and one from Canada. It was an awesome week to get to know the kids and to watch them interact with the refugees. Monday through Thursday we went to church and did different classes with the refugee kids.

Mud Run
This year was the 9th year doing the Mud Run. We had over 600 people come to run the Mud Run. A lot of people I talked to had been there before and they want to come back.
I worked at the Tire Climb again this year. We did not have any major incidents; just scratches and bruises. Hopefully next time we will have a lot of rain.

Summer Time
The summertime is coming quickly! We have been busy getting things ready. We are processing all the finances and paperwork and doing other stuff in the office. This summer; I will not be going on a team. I will be staying back with a small group of people to take care of the base. We will man the phones, do office work, and yard work and get everything ready for when the teams come back to attend Debriefs. Two retreats will be coming in during this time. Even though I enjoy going on teams and taking kids overseas, I am looking forward to staying back. It will still be a lot of work, but I have not had this opportunity since 2014.

This is the story of a woman who lives in the marketplace in Madagascar. Her name is Margarita and she is 60 years old and has 3 children. This woman was married but her husband became very sick. Margarita did not have money for the hospital bills and sadly her husband died. After her husband died she was chased from the house which they were renting because she had no money. She decided to go to the market and live there with her children outside in the corridor between the shops. When the rains came she had nothing to do but used the old plastic bags to make a house for herself and the children. Two of her children are in prison now because they were accused of stealing things. The remaining son has a mental disorder so he can only help people carry things they buy from the market. Sometimes people give the boy 5 cents for helping them. He puts that money together and buys some cups of rice for he and his mom. Queen, a Teen Missions staff member in Madagascar went with some interns to the market one day to buy charcoal for the Bible school. She asked Margarita, “are you the one who is selling the charcoal?” and Margarita responded “No, I just want to help because the owner is not here right now.” Margarita was standing in the small plastic house. Now Queen’s heart was not at peace when she saw the women, so she started asking her about where she lives and who stays with her. Margarita responded “I live in this house and I stay with one of my children.” Queen looked inside the house and saw Margarita’s son sleeping there. She then asked Margarita, “The space is so small how can you sleep in the same space with your son? Margarita responded “when it is time to sleep my son sleeps here where we keep containers and pots.” Queen found it very hard to respond to her but she asked God to give her the right words to speak to Margarita. After sharing with Margarita about Christ and the peace that comes from him and encouraging her she asked Margarita “What do you expect from the Lord?” Margarita responded “I want to be saved and have the eternal life in Jesus Christ’s name and become a child of God!” Queen prayed with the women to receive Jesus and then Queen prayed for her.

Thank You
Thank you, everyone, for your support; prayerfully and financially! I would not be able to do this without you listening to God to support me.